Hatfield votes against zoning for project
HATFIELD — After strong neighbor opposition, it’s back to the drawing board for a proposed development project that would have brought a traffic signal and dozens of townhomes to a parcel near Cow- path and Lenhart Roads.
On Wednesday night the township commissioners voted unanimously against an ordinance that would have created a township transportation oriented development district, a move that attorney Joseph Kuhls said showed that neighbors are still worried about flows of both traffic and stormwater through their neighborhood.
“We’re disappointed. we believe that the proposal put on the table was the right thing for the community, it gave a lot back to the community,” Kuhls said.
That proposal was presented to the township commissioners last month and discussed by the township’s Planning and Zoning committee for more than a year prior. Sal and Vic Moscariello, owners of nearby Guiseppe’s Pizza located at Cowpath and Broad streets, proposed to develop an eight-acre parcel with a maximum of 70 townhomes alongside a 100plus parking lot near SEPTA’s Fortuna station, and would have contributed a traffic signal at the intersection of Cowpath and Lenhart worth roughly $250,000.
According to Kuhls and township Manager Aaron Bibro, numerous residents voiced opposition to the plans Wednesday night, and all five commissioners voted down the ordinance that would have amended the township’s zoning map to include that new transportation district.
Kuhls said Thursday that “we’re going to have to wait and see” if another development plan would be presented for that site, but said in last month’s public hearing and reiterated during Wednesday night’s meeting that any by-right uses such as a medical clinic would not be required to contribute the traffic signal or parking for the nearby train station.
He added Thursday that Moscariello “is an upstanding businessman who has a long history of supporting the community, and of investment in the township.”
“We moved forward in good faith, in an effort to do what we believed was the right thing for Hatfield Township and for the community, and so we’re disappointed for ourselves and for our neighborhood,” Kuhls said.
Hatfield’s township commissioners next meet at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the township administra- tion building, 1059 School Road; for more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www. HatfieldTownship.org or follow @HatfieldPA on Twitter.